Stress, overwhelm, and anxiety are constant companions of many. I tend to fall into that track and pop those emotions on as well, if I am not vigilant about staying ahead of them to keep them at bay.

They are very sticky emotions; once they jump on to hitch a ride, they can be really really difficult to shed, just like a squatter who has decided to take up residence in your basement. "I live here now!" they scream and we can often fall prey to their manipulation instead of looking at them and telling them what to do and where to go rather than the opposite.

One holistic way I have been using to tame those beasts since Larry died and life got even more stressful is Home Neurofeedback.

A few weeks after his death I heard about a "Brain Sensing Headband" that works with brainwaves to measure levels of calm. Audio feedback tells the user how they are doing, and helps the user learn to change their brainwaves to reach a calmer, more meditative state. This headband, called Muse, has helped me greatly!

I love it so much that I have been talking it up for years. I think everyone should use it! I am such a proponent that I've recently become an affiliate for the company. Now every time someone buys it through me, I can get a commission!

This brain sensing headband works so well and helps me stay in control of my emotions, (mostly... lol!) as long as I use it on a regular basis. It's also helped me achieve a deep meditative state much more quickly than I ever thought possible!

Please comment below with any questions about my experience with Muse. I hope you try it and love it as much as I have! Here is the link: Muse Brain Sensing Headband

As the days go by from the end of January and get closer and closer to tax day, they get more stressed as their lives become more and more hectic, working diligently to get their clients' State, Local, and Federal taxes done. While still working on their regular accounting "stuff!" (I don't even pretend to understand what they do but they're super busy even when it ISN'T Tax Season!)

Last night I was asked by a dear friend who is also the mother of a beloved, precious, and absolutely precocious preschooler for a mommy story. I’ve been a mommy (although now simply called Mom) of a beloved son for the past 26 and ¾ years. I have many, many mommy stories.

Before our children come into our lives, be it through marriage to their birth parent, adoption, or giving birth to them, we have notions. We ALL have notions!

“That is not acceptable behavior.” Was my biggest notion.

I was going to be the first mother on the face of the Earth to be able to have a rational conversation with her child about why what she or he had done was not okay. HA! So naïve…

1997 was a difficult year. My first marriage had fallen apart and my husband had left for points unknown, leaving me with no financial support. I was suddenly a single mom of a 7 year old son, and came down with Mono as the cherry on top.

One day when I was feeling a little better, I let my son have a couple of friends over to play. Since it was raining, the kids were in the house, and my sister and brother-in-law had come by to visit. We adults sat in the kitchen, and were able to hear my son being very very mean to his friends. I was mortified. This normally nice kid was acting like a total jerk…

I called him over and took him in the bathroom to scold him. I was angry, so, so angry. I was so angry that I found it impossible to produce any words! Unintelligible noises came out of my mouth and my son, like anyone else would have, started to laugh.

Then Mommy lost her sh**. I shouted “Don’t laugh at me!” and (I know, I know,) spanked him hard on the bottom.

He flew out of the bathroom and went to his room. I took a minute to breathe deeply, then went out to the kitchen to find my sister and brother-in-law shaking in their chairs, laughing so hard they had tears running down my face.

I am not a huge advocate of spanking. It is appropriate on a limited basis in certain circumstances, but that was not one of them. I was ashamed of myself for acting in that manner.

My son and I got through it, though, and now that he’s an adult we laugh about my overreaction. I look at him now, a responsible, happy, successful man; a husband, homeowner, and professional, and realize that one of the sayings that has come down through the generations in my family is very true.

“Kids grow up despite their parents.”

We all make parenting mistakes. As long as we learn from them, keep our senses of humor, and show our children that we love and respect them, all should be well.